Obama okay with morning-after pill sales at age 15?

15 year old girls are now able to self-determine in terms of their reproductive health.

It is that bloody simple.

If they can make decisions on their health in terms of this morning after pill, then they should be able to make decisions on every aspect of their
health.

Or is there another agenda based soley on the reproductive aspects?

15 year old girls make mistakes. Allowing them access to the morning after pill makes it a little easier for them to fix their mistake. Allowing them
access to alcohol and cigarettes only helps them to make more mistakes -- why should we make it easier for them to make mistakes? See the difference?
It is that bloody simple.

These pills are hormones that induce a reaction to shed your menstrual cycle early. Hormone replacement pills for menopause have been shown to cause
breast cancer in women. Birth control pills are shown to create all kinds of problems in women and girls that use them.

If your are taking these pills to cause menstruation out of your regular cycle, you will have problems.

Add cigarette smoking, and junk food to the list - a girl or a women will cause many problems in their bodies.

These pills are hormones that induce a reaction to shed your menstrual cycle early. Hormone replacement pills for menopause have been shown to cause
breast cancer in women. Birth control pills are shown to create all kinds of problems in women and girls that use them.

If your are taking these pills to cause menstruation out of your regular cycle, you will have problems.

Add cigarette smoking, and junk food to the list - a girl or a women will cause many problems in their bodies.

WHY DON"T PEOPLE LIKE YOU GET A CLUE!

These pills are not meant to be taken every day. 99% of 15 year olds will probably not take them every day. Can we stop that 1% from taking them every
day? Not any more than we can stop them from taking too much Tylenol on an empty stomach, which will cause permanent liver damage, or taking aspirin
with a fever, which can also cause problems. Having access to the morning after pill will help 99% of the teens who take them, just like having access
to Tylenol will help them with a fever or a headache. Hell, even tampons can cause deadly toxic shock if not removed in a timely manner. But tampons
provide a great convenience for those with menstrual cycles. You provide help and convenience for the 99% -- it's worth the risk.

While this is not the ideal option it is the best one we have. The fact is this product looks more like most over the counter medications as far as
side effects go. It isn't perfect, and really I would be more concerned about what is required to be put on the packaging. You know things like its
effectiveness which is not 100%, that it is not as effective as a means of consistent birth control, and probably an insert on contacting a doctor and
Planned Parenthood to be prescribed birth control.

Kids are going to have sex, and in all honesty it seems that the ones who grow up in strict religious abstinence only households are more likely to
engage in it and more frequently. No offense meant but that has been my personal experience. On another personal note my family is pretty relaxed and
understanding when it comes to just about anything. My 15 year old nephew feels uncomfortable as it is telling us whether he is pooing regularly,
because it is embarrassing. Despite the fact when he started not feeling well it was the first question every adult he knew asked him. So tell me
exactly how it is you expect a 15 year old girl to ask mom and dad for a Dr. appointment to get a script for Plan B when she knows that she was not
supposed to be engaging in sexual activity to begin with?

The problem isn't the kids or policy on this particular medication, it is the backwards thinking religious nuts dreaming of a golden age that never
existed.

thats the age when people start experimenting with sex. Accidents happen, condoms break, some parents are like the OP, so the child in a prediciment
cant go to talk to them about what to do. Why shouldnt they be able to go get the morning after pill. OP, good luck raising a teenage daughter. Your
head is going to explode when she does what everyone else in the world does.

Do you have any idea where that line of logic has most often been seen and used for the context? I'm sorry, but that statement is so repugnant to me,
it vibrates right off the screen.

We have ages set in this nation ..and the WORLD at large shares them, albeit a little different for thresholds at times, for very good reasons.
Biologic level of physical ability is not, in any way, the motivating factor. Mental and Psychological development for making informed choices out of
sound judgment are the factors.

However people want to dress it up or lipstick this piggy of bad thinking, a 15 year old doesn't pack the intellectual horsepower of an 18 year old.
By outright medical fact of brain development, neither packs the gear of a 20-25 year old, where physical develop of that organ has pretty well run
it's course and you are who you will ever really be.

The suggestion that a child, as a 15 year old truly is in the end, has the independent ability to make such sound judgement and decisions as to
choices with dramatic ramification to their own medical futures is absurd.

Or ...to put this another way which is equally valid? If they can be trusted to make any decision along these lines, alone and in isolation of ANY
older guidance? Then a 15 year old can and SHOULD stand for trial as a fully qualified adult for *ANY* crime committed at that age as well.

You cannot have the cake and then argue over the particulars of ingredients. It's all or nothing for the level of logic being used here. Are 15 year
olds the intellectual equal of adults or aren't they?

If you want to go in that direction, you would have to not allow 15 year olds access to water without adult supervision, because they could drink too
much and get water poisoning. Silly, isn't it? The truth is, there are some things you can trust a 15 year old with and some things you shouldn't.
It's hard to know exactly where to draw the line, so you kind of have to look at the big picture. It's not black or white, all or nothing.

You can try to stop a 15 year old from having sex, but you won't always be successful. But not allowing them easy access to contraception makes it a
lot easier for them to get an abortion, or try to abort themselves, or dump their unwanted newborn in a trash dumpster, or a public toilet in order to
avoid their parents finding out. Which would you prefer YOUR 15 year old do, assuming she wouldn't tell you she got pregnant?

What your saying sounds good on paper. But in the real world, 15-16 is the age people begin to experiment with sex. No experience with sex = no
experience in safe sex. Which means mistakes are bound to happen. Condoms slip off small 15 year old wiener and he accidently goes inside of her.
Would a teenager be comfortable to go to a parent in that sitation and ask what to do? Most times, not. Why wouldnt the day after pill be accessable
for these young adults. Were you not interested in sex when you were 15? If you say no, you are either a liar, or different then every other person on
this planet.

15 year old girls make mistakes. Allowing them access to the morning after pill makes it a little easier for them to fix their mistake. Allowing them
access to alcohol and cigarettes only helps them to make more mistakes -- why should we make it easier for them to make mistakes? See the difference?
It is that bloody simple.

Giving a 15 year old access to these type of drugs, makes a promiscuous lifestyle, OK. Easier for them to "fix" their mistake? Hell, There are TV
shows glamorizing the life style ! And these "kids" are getting paid for it.

Statistics: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 36.9 percent of 14-year-olds have had sex – more than one out of three. Among 12th
graders, 66.4 percent have had sex.

Your mindset sounds as if sex is a bad thing. Sex is normal. Sex among teens is normal. Do you not remember being in highschool? You people grow up
and lose touch with reality. You dont want your kids to have sex, or even know about sex, at the same age you became interested in sex. So your grand
idea is to tell teens, "sex is bad. Dont have it. Dont learn about it. Dont talk about it. Dont think about it." Good luck to your children's
social and mental wellbeing.

If you want to go in that direction, you would have to not allow 15 year olds access to water without adult supervision, because they could
drink too much and get water poisoning. Silly, isn't it? The truth is, there are some things you can trust a 15 year old with and some things you
shouldn't. It's hard to know exactly where to draw the line, so you kind of have to look at the big picture. It's not black or white, all or nothing.

I beg to differ. The logic being used all up and down this thread, in support of this policy, has been that a 15 year old has every ability to make
judgments in isolation of guidance from adults. That IS the issue and really, the issue I opened my OP post with.

Do they or do they not have the ability to make rational, educated and well grounded decisions regarding the taking of drugs designed to interfere
with core biologic processes of the human body? It's as simple as it gets. Issues of abortion, teenage sex or pregnancy and morality are all
interesting and valid sideline issues. However, in the end, they are sideline issues.

We're talking about a drug (2 of them actually...as "the morning after pill" isn't just ONE product performing this role, but 2 of them) that has a
whopping history reaching alllll the way back to 1999. Such a long history, we absolutely KNOW the effects and impact on all age ranges, in all
conditions to be taking this without any medical oversight of any kind. Right? Just like Aspirin, Ibuprofen or water ..as others have referenced.

(Sorry, the water reference was so totally over the top for logic, I laughed out loud, seeing it brought up)

My contention, from the OP onward, has not been that 15 year olds be denied this option or ability to use it. It's that it be done with the guidance
and supervision of their individual circumstances that comes by the need for a prescription at that age. As, I've also noted, is STILL required for
the monthly schedule of Birth Control pills that would likely make ever needing this one, a moot point.

I will agree that a big part of the problem is bad or nonexistent parenting. That's why I advocate public schools getting more involved in educating
kids about sex and its consequences, even at the elementary school level BEFORE they hit puberty. We need a lot more discussion about it, and if the
parents won't do it, somebody needs to.

Your mindset sounds as if sex is a bad thing. Sex is normal. Sex among teens is normal. Do you not remember being in highschool? You people grow up
and lose touch with reality. You dont want your kids to have sex, or even know about sex, at the same age you became interested in sex. So your grand
idea is to tell teens, "sex is bad. Dont have it. Dont learn about it. Dont talk about it. Dont think about it." Good luck to your children's
social and mental wellbeing.

No.

My children are well aware of sex. Its how you teach them about CONSEQUENCES. Giving them the morning-after pill is like giving a teenager
fix-a-flat for a tire.

and.............

Use of the abortion drug RU-486 has resulted in the deaths of 29 women worldwide, according to a new report.

I will agree that a big part of the problem is bad or nonexistent parenting. That's why I advocate public schools getting more involved in educating
kids about sex and its consequences, even at the elementary school level BEFORE they hit puberty. We need a lot more discussion about it, and if the
parents won't do it, somebody needs to.

What about all those teachers who have sex with children? Is that part of the discussion?

Maybe making parents pay for their bad parenting skills would solve the problem. Sending them the "bill" for their children ending up on welfare.
Sounds harsh, but I don't see that discussion happening.

Not all teens are able to talk to thier parents if an accident happened, which happens often because they are just learning what it is to actually
have sex. What if a condom breaks and she needs the morning after pill, but cant talk to a parent about what to do. It happens all the time.

Also, 29 women died worldwide, thats horrible. But that means she has roughly a .0000000004% chance of dying from it.

Not all teens are able to talk to thier parents if an accident happened, which happens often because they are just learning what it is to actually
have sex. What if a condom breaks and she needs the morning after pill, but cant talk to a parent about what to do. It happens all the time.

Also, 29 women died worldwide, thats horrible. But that means she has roughly a .0000000004% chance of dying from it.

Theres more to it though, then "statistics". Complications from it too.

According to the study’s statistics, the abortion pill failed for 1,169 women. A Dec. 20, 2012, Reuters story reported there were 385 serious
complications during the study period, “including 238 who sought emergency room treatment, 135 who were admitted to the hospital, 114 who had a
blood transfusion and 57 who required intravenous antibiotics.”

Do you have any idea where that line of logic has most often been seen and used for the context? I'm sorry, but that statement is so repugnant to me,
it vibrates right off the screen.

We have ages set in this nation ..and the WORLD at large shares them, albeit a little different for thresholds at times, for very good reasons.
Biologic level of physical ability is not, in any way, the motivating factor. Mental and Psychological development for making informed choices out of
sound judgment are the factors.

However people want to dress it up or lipstick this piggy of bad thinking, a 15 year old doesn't pack the intellectual horsepower of an 18 year old.
By outright medical fact of brain development, neither packs the gear of a 20-25 year old, where physical develop of that organ has pretty well run
it's course and you are who you will ever really be.

The suggestion that a child, as a 15 year old truly is in the end, has the independent ability to make such sound judgement and decisions as to
choices with dramatic ramification to their own medical futures is absurd.

Or ...to put this another way which is equally valid? If they can be trusted to make any decision along these lines, alone and in isolation of ANY
older guidance? Then a 15 year old can and SHOULD stand for trial as a fully qualified adult for *ANY* crime committed at that age as well.

You cannot have the cake and then argue over the particulars of ingredients. It's all or nothing for the level of logic being used here. Are 15 year
olds the intellectual equal of adults or aren't they?

OMG I can't believe you dug up an old mass e-mail and copypasta in like 2 seconds.... Everybody wang chung tonight... dun duduh WRabbt's a bot
shoowop!

Mass Email? What are you talking about? I typed everything I have up there. Are you suggesting I don't type my own replies outside of what I
specifically quote? Sorry if I happened to have timing that may seem to have come right on top of your own post. I hadn't even looked..and still
haven't, honestly, to see what time difference was. I was simply tending to my Tools >> Messages >> Replies list for who had replied to me on threads
when I came across yours.

However, since that's the sum total of your reply, I'll add something. The "Old enough to bleed, Old enough to breed" mindset you quote is one
I've most often seen used by pedophiles and supporters of Adult/Child love relations beyond that of the family kind. In fact, outside of children
themselves using that warped logic, it's about the only place I've seen it. I by no means intend to suggest anything by that, except to explain why
reading it on an ATS thread came as outright shocking. Stunningly so.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.